JPS6362749A - End surface type thermal head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To equivalently obtain the density of heat generating resistors two times that of electrodes, by constituting an individual electrode layer of two electrode layers laminated through an insulating layer and shifting the arrangement of the electrodes in two electrode layers by a 1/2 pitch to each other. CONSTITUTION:A common electrode layer 4 and a glass layer 3 are laminated to one surface of a substrate 1 by the same process as a conventional one, and the first individual electrode layers 21, an insulating glass layer 31 and the second individual electrode layers 22 are successively laminated thereon, and a protective glass layer 5 is finally laminated. Herein, the first and second individual electrode layers 21, 22 are printed so that the mutual electrode patterns thereof are shifted by a 1/2 pitch and the respective electrode layers 21, 22 are alternately exposed to a cut end surface. Further, a heat generating resistor 6 is formed on said end surface and separated into plural ones by laser cut 7 in matching relation to the width of each of the first and second individual electrode layers 21, 22. Furthermore, a protective abrasion resistant layer 8 is formed to the end surface having the heat generating resistor 6 in the same way as is conventional.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an end face type thermal head in which a heating resistor is formed in the direction of the end face of a substrate.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as an edge-type thermal head in which a heating resistor is formed at the edge of a substrate, the applicant of the present application has disclosed Japanese Patent Application No. H-H310.
There is a device that has already been applied for under the No. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of this thermal head. The thermal head shown in FIG. 0 has individual electrode layers 2.
Glass layer serving as an electrical insulation layer and a thermal resistance layer 3. Common electrode layer 4. A protective glass layer 5 is sequentially laminated, and each layer including the substrate 1 is cut to form a heating resistor 6 on the exposed end surface of each electrode layer 2, 4. Further, the heating resistor 6 is separated into a plurality of parts by laser cutting 7 or the like in accordance with the shape (electrode pitch) of the individual electrode layer 2.

1I is a new view of the thermal head shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 0, 8 is a protective and wear-resistant layer formed on the heating resistor 6.

In the thermal head formed in this way, the heating resistor 6 (heating part) reliably contacts the recording paper, etc.
A thermal head with good thermal efficiency can be obtained. Furthermore, since the end portions of the substrate 1 can be more easily processed to be flat than the flat portions, the plurality of heat-generating portions can be brought into even contact with the recording paper, etc., and high printing quality can be obtained.

Furthermore, the length of the heat generating part in the heat generating resistor 6 is determined by the thickness of the glass layer 3 formed between the electrode layers.

By adjusting this thickness, you can freely adjust the length of the heat generating part.
l#, without affecting the strength of the substrate 1, etc.
You can select the size of the printed dots.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in such an end face type thermal head, since the individual electrodes M2 and the common electrode layer 4 are formed by thick film printing, the wiring density of one individual electrode M2 cannot be made very high.

There are limits to increasing the resolution of heads. In addition, in order to increase the wiring density of the individual electrode layer 2 as much as possible and achieve high resolution, there is a method in which a thick gold (Au) film with a reduced amount of glass frit is used and a ta pattern is formed using a photorin graph. has also been put into practical use, but the resolution is limited to about 8th layer/m, and higher (about 12th to 11th layer/Ila).
It is impossible to achieve high resolution.

The present invention aims to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional devices and to realize an end-face type thermal head with a simple configuration that can obtain high resolution even when using thick film electrodes as in the past. It is something.

[Means for solving problems]

The edge-type thermal head of the present invention can be used with individual electric FJ layers or with a common type! A plurality of electrode layers serving as IN are sequentially stacked on one surface of the substrate so as to face each other with an electrical insulating layer and a glass layer serving as a thermal resistance layer interposed therebetween, and a heating resistor is placed on the exposed end surface of each electrode layer. In the end face type thermal head configured to form the individual electrode layer, the individual electrode layer is composed of two electrode layers laminated with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and
The arrangement of the electrodes in these two electrode layers is shifted from each other by 1/2 pitch.

[For production]

In this way, individual type 4! [By making iN a two-layer structure and shifting the arrangement of each company's 81iIW by 1/2 pitch from each other, the heating resistors connected to each electrode layer will not overlap each other but will be arranged alternately.] Therefore, it is possible to obtain a heating resistor density that is equivalently twice the electrode density.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The end face type thermal head of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an end face type thermal head of the present invention. In the figure, the above-mentioned Fig. 9 and Fig. 1-
21. Components similar to those in the figures are designated by the same reference numerals. H
are first and second individual one-layer electrode layers, and 31 is an insulating glass layer laminated between the first and second individual electrode layers 21 and 22. In addition, in Figure 1, individual type fiJ
Common type with 121.22! The M layer order with N4 is the above ff1
It is opposite to Figure 9, and the common type 14N4 is connected to board 1 first.
Although it is laminated on top, this is to facilitate the wiring process of individual electrodes #21 and #22, and does not affect the performance of the thermal head.

That is, a common *MN4 and a glass N3 are laminated on one surface of the substrate 1 by a process similar to the conventional method, and a first individual electrode layer 21. Insulating glass layer 31. jlT2 individual type 11! The MIDs are laminated one after another, and finally the protective glass layer 5 is laminated. Here, 1!1 and the second individual electrode J? JN, 22, each other's it, m pattern is 1/2
The electrode layers 11 and 22 are printed at different pitches, and the electrode layers 11 and 22 are alternately exposed on the cut end face, as shown in the figure. The first and second individual electrode layers 21 and 22 can also be patterned by screen printing, but if high resolution is required, for example, thick film paste of gold (Au) can be applied over the entire surface. After printing and baking, it is generally patterned using a photolithography process and etching. When the gold film thickness is about 2 to 8 .mu.m, it is relatively easy to obtain a resolution of about 11 lines/-.

Furthermore, a heat generating resistor 6 is formed on this end face, and the heat generating resistor 6 is cut by a laser cut 7 or the like to form the first and twelfth individual electrode layers 21. It is divided into multiple parts according to the width of H. Incidentally, a protective and wear-resistant layer (8) is formed on the end face where the heating resistor 6 is formed, as in the conventional case, but is not shown here.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the heating resistor portion of the sieve type thermal head formed as described above.

As shown in the figure, the individual electrode # (
! I, H) are the first and second individual electrodes 7i121
Since the arrangement position of ゜22 is shifted by 1/2 pitch, the electrodes of each layer are 1t11! It will be placed between. Therefore, the heating resistor 6 formed on the end face is connected to the IJl and the second individual electrode layer 21. If separated according to the electrode width of H, ff1l and the second individual electrode layer 21
．． The heating resistors 6 connected to 2'i are arranged alternately without overlapping each other, and are equivalently arranged in the first and second rows.
It is possible to obtain a heating resistor density that is twice the electrode density of the individual electrode layers 21 and 22.

If one individual electrode layer has a two-layer structure in this way.

The W& electrode density per layer can be lowered, and high resolution can be obtained even if conventional IG film electrodes are used. Note that when the individual electrode layer has a two-layer structure, tni
The distances Ll, Ll between the second individual electrodes N2+, H and the common electrode layer 4 are different, and the heat generating areas of the heat generating resistors 6 are uneven. In the head, the length of the heating resistor 6 is L.
l or L2) is approximately 1eeμm, and if the film thickness of the insulating ratchet 11 is μ■, then the distance between the electrodes Ll, L
The difference in resistance value due to the difference in 2 is about 1%, so
This difference does not have a large effect on print quality. Furthermore, the number of individual electrode layers is not limited to two.

For example, if the individual electrode layers have a three-layer structure, the electrode density per layer can be 173.

@Figure 3 to Figure fJ8 are configuration diagrams showing other embodiments of the end face type thermal head of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as in FIG. 1 and FIG. ff12 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The embodiment shown in FIG.
121. Hi: Oke 611 pole (7) 111111.1
2 wo changes.

The resistance values of the heating resistors 6 are made equal.

Thus, the first and second individual electrode layers! When the resistance values of the heating resistors 6 connected to + and H are made equal to each other, the amount of heat generated by each of them is made equal.

Print quality can be improved.

! The embodiment shown in Figure J4 is with one individual electrode layer.

The common electrode layer also has a 2N structure. In the figure, 41 and 42 are fIll and 12 common electrode layers. Moreover, in the example of FIG. 4, the first individual 11! The polar layer 21 and the first common type [IW41. and second individual electrode layer 22
and the second common electrode N42 are made to face each other, and the distance between these electrodes is made equal, so that the resistance value and heat generation area of the heating resistor 6 are made equal.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 has a 2M structure for the individual type is and the common electrode layer as in the m4 diagram, but here, the individual electrode layer 21 of Wil, the common electrode layer 42 of f52,
and a second individual type fljN22 and a first common type piM
41 are opposed to each other so that the center positions of the heat generating resistors 6 are uniformly aligned. Aligning the center positions of the heating resistors 6 in a straight line in this manner is effective when recording highly accurate line figures.

The embodiment shown in FIG. ! A driver IC chip 9 that drives the thermal resistor 6! This figure shows the case where they are integrally mounted on an I, H substrate 1. Here, driver IC chips! I and B are individual electrode layers! ! , H are provided to drive the heat generating resistor 6 respectively,
Driver IC chip group 9I arranged in the back row on the board 1
is the first individual 11! Driver IC chip #92, which is connected to the pole layer 21 and similarly arranged in the front row, is connected to the second individual electrode layer 22. Therefore, the heating resistor 6 connected to the first individual electrode layer 21 is a group of driver IC chips! 1 and the second individual electrode layer z2
The heating resistor 6 connected to the driver IC chip #! The heating resistors 6, which are driven by the driver IC chip group 51. They are each independently driven by Sl. Also, these driver IC chips cost $5+! 2, the built-in shift registers are serially connected, and the recorded data corresponding to the heating resistor 6 is transferred bit by bit to the driver IC chip II1.
! ! The signals are distributed and input to the I and H shift registers.

In this way, a group of driver IC chips! If the individual electrode layers H, 12 connected to I, H have a two-layer structure, the density of wiring, connection pads, etc. around each driver IC chip group 11.92 can be halved. moreover,
The heating resistor 6 connected to each individual electrode [1, 22 is a group of driver IC chips! +, Since they are driven independently in units of 52, the pulse width and voltage value applied to the heating resistor 6 can be controlled by the driver IC chip group! When combined with the above-mentioned head shown in FIG. 5, the print density and dot size can be made uniform and the print quality can be improved.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the end face forming one heating resistor 6 is polished obliquely. in this way.

By obliquely polishing the end surface of the substrate 1, it is possible to reduce the influence of chipping that occurs during polishing, and it is also possible to reduce the contact area with recording paper or the like, thereby reducing printing pressure.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are new views showing various methods for performing oblique polishing. FIG. 8(A) is a new view of the head shown in FIG. 7, and FIGS. 8(B) and 8(C) are views of the end surface (polished surface) where the heating resistor 6 is formed by changing the angle at which the substrate 1 is cut. The angle has been changed arbitrarily.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the edge-type thermal head of the present invention, a plurality of
The a-layers are successively laminated on one side of the substrate so as to face each other with a glass layer serving as an electric resistance layer and a heat resistance layer interposed therebetween, and a heating resistor is formed on the exposed end surface of each one-layer electrode layer. In the end face type thermal head,
The individual electrode layer is composed of 2IW electrode layers laminated with an insulating layer interposed in between, and the electrodes in these two electrode layers are shifted by 1/2 pitch from each other, so that each electrode 41 The heating resistors connected to the layers do not overlap each other, but are arranged alternately, making it possible to obtain a heating resistor density that is equivalently twice the electrode density, making it possible to achieve a heating resistor density that is equivalently twice the electrode density. It is possible to realize an end-face type thermal head with a simple configuration that can obtain high resolution even when using the present invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1~111'! Figure 8 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the end face type thermal head of the present invention, I! FIG. 9 and FIG. 1A are configuration diagrams showing an example of a conventional end face type thermal head. 1...Substrate, 2.21.22...Individual electrode layer, 3...Glass layer, Insulating glass layer, 4.41.42. ...Common electrode layer, 5
......Protective glass layer, 6...Heating resistor, 7...Laser cut, 8...Protective and wear-resistant layer. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Atsushi Figure 4 Atsushi Figure 5 Tsuta Figure 6 Atsushi Figure 7 Tail figure 8

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of electrode layers serving as individual electrode layers or a common electrode layer are sequentially laminated on one surface of a substrate so as to face each other with a glass layer serving as an electrical insulating layer and a thermal resistance layer interposed therebetween, and each electrode layer In the end face type thermal head in which a heating resistor is formed on the exposed end face of the individual electrode layer, the individual electrode layer is constituted by two electrode layers laminated with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and in these two electrode layers, An end face type thermal head characterized in that the arrangement of electrodes is shifted from each other by 1/2 pitch. (2) In the two individual electrode layers, the electrode width of each electrode layer is changed depending on the distance from the common electrode layer, and the resistance values of the heating resistors connected between these electrodes are made to be the same. An end face type thermal head according to claim 1. (3) The common electrode layer is formed of two electrode layers having the same electrode pattern as the individual electrode layers, and the lengths of the heating resistors connected between the electrodes are made equal. The end face type thermal head according to item 1. (4) The common electrode layer is formed of two electrode layers having the same electrode pattern as the individual electrode layer, and the center positions of the heating resistors connected between the electrodes are aligned on a straight line. An end face type thermal head according to claim 1.